Kolkatans, since ages, love travelling to three places during their holidays or long weekends; I hope you have already guessed that right, it’s Digha, Puri and Darjeeling! Lately people are exploring more nearby places, going on fancy road trips, but still these three have never lost their charm. And Darjeeling has always churned out great memories and nostalgia that Kolkatans can’t live without. Even with the intermittent political unrest in the hills, Kolkatans know how to stay close to Darjeeling, at least to its culinary aspect. My city surely knows how to amaze its dwellers every day!
Lately, I discovered a piece of Darjeeling is slowly spreading its wings at the buzzing Golpark area! ‘The Whistling Kettle’ from the house of Nathmulls was already there, which I had reviewed and my readers must be well aware of that! It serves some amazing variety of tea, Vietnamese coffee, breakfast options and yes, lovely pork platters as well from the Keventers! I was pleasantly surprised when I found that The Whistling Kettle has been joined by another eatery called ‘Mamamomo’ serving Darjeeling style comfort food. The place has recently opened up right beside The Whistling Kettle. The best part is, it doesn’t serve the similar items which The Whistling Kettle was already serving. Mamamomo is here to entice you with its amazing range of Momos, Thukpas, Sekhwas (traditional Nepali char-grilled meats on coal fire), chilli pork or chicken and some homely combo meal options!
It is a humble 300 sq. feet area eatery having three tables where you have to stand and devour all those amazing Nepali comfort food! The place has the open kitchen right in front of you, so you can ask them to prepare your dish as per your preference. Either you can stand and devour the food or you can opt for take-aways. They are going to start the tie-ups with Swiggy and Zomato very soon. Tashi Kidwai, the co-owner had a feeling there is a lack of traditional momo eateries at Kolkata. The recipes he has incorporated in the menu are those from his mother, Pemba Doma Kidwai who had received them from Tashi’s grandmother. He wanted to gift Kolkata the taste of authentic home-cooked Nepali and Tibetan cuisine cooked without any added MSG.
Tashi has initiated the journey with Sailesh Sarda, the 4th generation owner of Nathmulls tea and his wife Bonisha Sharma Sarda. Being Nepali by birth Bonisha has always been fond of Nepali cuisine. They want Mamamomo to spread gradually in the coming months. They want to open at least couple of outlets in Calcutta within the next 6-7 months.
Now, let us quickly check out the food that I had at this place. I started off with Chicken Steamed Momo which came along with a bowl of clear momo soup. It was soothing and the momo was soft and juicy though a bit more filling can do wonders. The momo chutney that they are serving is made in-house from organically sourced Dalle chillis from Darjeeling. For retailing also, they are stocking Pickles with combinations of Dalle Bambooshoot, Dalle garlic, Dalle Paste, Dalle with blend of Indian Spices and Kinema-Dalle with fermented soya bean paste which you can buy directly from this place.
After the steamed momos, I tried the Pork Momo Chilli and surprisingly I liked it better than the steamed momos. This was not a typical pan fried momo with loads of synthetic spicy gravy, this was stir fried with diced bell peppers having a very little amount of water sprinkled, making the overall dish pretty dry which I really liked. It was tad spicy but it wasn’t an overdose of the spicy element. The momos were basically steamed pork momos which were super juicy and tasted insanely good. I would definitely try this dish every time I go back to this place.
Chilli Pork followed the pork momo chilli. And basically base of both these dishes were pretty similar. Here also you will get the pieces of lean pork meat crowned with a little bit of fat stir fried with chopped chillies and diced bell peppers. The meat to fat ratio was perfect, which was the biggest plus according to me.
Next came in Chicken Thukpa, which was super soothing. This heart-warming thin broth is extremely simple yet flavorful. It is cooked with freshly chopped veggies like bell peppers, onions, spring onions, etc and minced meat along with very little spices that gives it a touch of home-cooked food. This tastes so subtle yet amazingly tasty and filling. It comes in large and small bowls, so you can order accordingly. Next time, I will surely try the Pork Thukpa, for sure. You will get such unadulterated simple dishes (like this Thukpa) in the hills which people over there have been eating all their lives.
The last dish which I tried was Chicken Pan Fried Momo cooked in Nepali Style. You won’t get this at any other place in Kolkata, except maybe at some Japanese restaurants. Puzzled? Actually this stuff is pretty close to the Japanese gyozas and doesn’t resemble with the typical pan fried momos available in Kolkata. These are simple steamed momos with a fried or rather toasted base. It goes very well with the in-house red chilli sauce.
So, next time when I am back I will surely try their Sekhwa (which is available after 5pm in the evening) and their Pork Thukpa. Pork Sekhwa is definitely something which will be very interesting. Grilled pork kebab with that lemony green chutney is sure to entice my taste buds! So, overall I quite liked this place for its simple home-style food. I would have loved if the place had a nice dine-in facility, hopefully, they will have the same in the near future. Food and hospitality are definitely going to bring you back to this place for more! Thank you Mamamomo for giving Kolkata an unadulterated culinary touch of the hills.
Cheers!
P.S. Foodiedada was at this place for tasting/review purpose on PR invitation.
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